Expressing the sense of Congress that Katherine Dunham should be recognized for her groundbreaking achievements in dance, theater, music, and education, as well as for her work as an activist striving for racial equality throughout the world.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 62) expressing the sense of Congress that Katherine Dunham should be recognized for her groundbreaking achievements in dance, theater, music, and education, as well as for her work as an activist striving for racial equality throughout the world.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Con. Res. 62.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 62. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation which expresses the sense of Congress that Katherine Dunham should be recognized for her groundbreaking achievements in dance, theater, music, and education, as well as for her work as an activist striving for racial equality throughout the world.

Katherine Dunham has been called the matriarch of black dance. Her unprecedented blend of cultural anthropology with the artistic genre of dance in the early 1930s produced groundbreaking forms of movement and in the United States established black dance as an art form in its own right.

She was born on June 22, 1909 and began formal dance training in her late teens. She completed her Bachelor's Degree in social anthropology at the University of Chicago, was a pioneer in the use of folk and ethnic choreography, and was one of the founders of the Anthropological Dance Movement.

Katherine Dunham utilized her dance career and public status to draw attention to issues of segregation and the civil rights movement. In 1945, Katherine Dunham founded the Dunham School of Dance and Theater in Manhattan, thereby providing a centralized location for students to immerse themselves in dance technique while also studying topics in the humanities, languages, ethics, philosophy and drama.

In 1967, Katherine Dunham established a performing arts training center in East St. Louis, Missouri, which enrolled high risk youth into its program in fine, performing and cultural arts.

In 1993, she went on a 47-day hunger strike to call attention to the welfare of Haitians, thereby shifting public opinion concerning the United States public relations with Haiti, and helping to precipitate the return of Haiti's first democratically elected President.

During her career Katherine Dunham was a dancer, choreographer and a director on Broadway and was the first black choreographer at the Metropolitan Opera. She has received 10 honorary doctorates and numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Arts, the French Legion of Honor, the NAACP's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Kennedy Center Honors Award.

She continues to be an activist, teacher and mentor to young people throughout the world. I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent Resolution 62, which expresses the sense of Congress that Katherine Dunham should be recognized for her work as a teacher, dancer, choreographer and actress, for her dedication to improving the opportunities in the arts that are available to the Nation's youth and for her lifelong commitment to humanitarian causes around the world.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I encourage each of our Members to support the resolution.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 62. I support this resolution which honors Katherine Dunham. This renowned dancer was born in Illinois in 1909 and started studying dance in her early teens. She was one of the first African Americans to study at the University of Chicago, where she earned a doctorate degree in anthropology.

As part of a research fellowship, Dunham studied the anthropological roots of dance in the Caribbean. Her research led to the creation of the anthropological dance movement which focuses on folk, ethnic and cultural choreography.

In 1931, she started the first African-American ballet company in the United States. Later she joined the faculty of Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, where she helped create a performing arts training center and established a dance anthropology program.

She went on to create a community-based arts education program for impoverished young people in East St. Louis, the St. Louis metropolitan region's only multi-disciplinary arts organization devoted to the study, appreciation and celebration of diverse cultures.

Throughout her illustrious career as one of the word's most respected dancers, choreographers and teachers, Ms. Dunham used her talents, fame and resources to call attention to social injustices at home and abroad.

In closing, Madam Speaker, Katherine was dedicated to improving the lives of America's youth and correcting the social injustices at home and around the world, using her fame to increase support for the civil rights movement and to fight injustices worldwide. She is a good example of a person who has followed her passion and used her success for the greater good. We need more Americans to follow her fine example.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.